Texas Roadhouse was having a company meeting in San Francisco. We walked by the hotel just as they were leaving for a night out. We just couldn’t help it, we had to go up to an executive looking guy and suggest they try expanding into Western Australia.

What says “Western” better than a “Texas Roadhouse”?

If Outback restaurants can come to the USA, then why not “turnabout is fair play”?

One thing we forgot to tell the executive looking guy: Fremantle is a Liberty port for ships from the Arabian Gulf. Can’t you just picture a bunch of American sailors on Liberty finding a place named “Texas Roadhouse”?

Maybe we should go back tomorrow and ask it they need a bigger in-depth scouting report. Can’t you just picture those fellows from Texas if they had next year’s gathering in Kalgoorlie?

Hmmm. Wonder how I can apply for the job of Regional Manager for Western Australia. If there is no franchises in W. A., right now, that sounds like a pretty cushy job, just right for me.

One of the wildest unsubstantiated rumours heard during a vacation in Australia was that J. Edgar Hoover was one of the founding investors in Dunkin’ Doughnuts.

This plays on many jokes about cops and doughnuts, but have you ever asked a copy about the connection?

Back in the day, (before patrol cars were equipted with comuters) policemen were reluctant to go back to their office to do their paperwork because when they sat down at their desks, the command watch officer would come over and put them to work on something more urgent.

Going into a coffee shop meant spending a few bucks and adding a bit more for a tip for the waitress, so that wasn’t a cost effective idea.

The cheapest place to find a cuppa and a table to write on was the local doughnut shop, so they would go there, spend the minium and print out (no writing in longhand) their reports in relative peace and quiet.

(Speaking of doughnuts, Kripy Kreme doughnuts are a common sight on Australia’s East Coast, but they are unavailable in Western Australia and are often “smuggled” in to W. A. by travelers.)

[Sidebar: In Sydney folks can listen to FBi radio. (Note the downstyle “i”.)